Anonymous #OpParis: Hacktivists publish 'noob's guide' for fighting Isis online

Anonymous has released a series of guides for getting involved in the group's Operation Paris (OpParis) cyberwar campaign against Islamic State (Isis). The how-to instructions include methods to hack websites associated with IS, as well as details on how to identify and take down the group's social media accounts.

Three guides were posted to an IRC channel used by Anonymous to share information on OpParis, encouraging anyone to get involved regardless of their computer skills. They include a "NoobGuide" for anyone wanting to learn how to hack, a "Reporter" guide that explains how to set up a Twitter bot for uncovering IS accounts, and a "Searcher" guide for finding IS websites.

"Instead of sitting idle in the [chat] channel or lurking around and doing nothing, you can benefit greatly from the different tools and guides that have been provided to you," a member of the amorphous group wrote. "Your contribution means a lot and we encourage you to partake in all of the Op's activities if you can, the more the merrier."

This is not the first time that Anonymous has attempted to recruit people to its operations, having previously released a step-by-step guide for taking down pro-IS Twitter accounts in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

The latest guides include detailed instructions on how to carry out cyberattacks against IS websites, such as distributed denial of service (DDoS) and man in the middle (MITM) attacks. Links to sites that provide the tools needed for such attacks are included in the guides, together with a request to not use them unless instructed.

The OpParis campaign has promised to be the group's "biggest operation ever", however IS has dismissed Anonymous as "idiots" incapable of causing any significant disruptions to its online operations. Since launching on Sunday, OpParis has already resulted in more than 5,500 Twitter accounts associated with Jihadists to be taken down.

"There should be plenty of work to keep you occupied so get going," the Anonymous member who posted the guide said. "If you wish to submit anything of value, place your findings on ghostbin.com and share to the link to one of the channel operators and we can talk about what to do next."